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TonyOD

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Everything posted by TonyOD

  1. I regret I'm having to withdraw the proposal, but if anyone else would like to pick it up and run with it that would be great! Cheers all Tony
  2. Morning all. For reasons that don't need to be aired here, I've decided to leave the Britmodeller forum, and I regret that as consequence I will no longer be involved in the Salty Sea Dog Group Build. It's been a hoot, both on the Bunfight campaign trail and, latterly, during the GB itself. What a wonderful array of builds we have seen, and continue to see. Thank you, everyone who had shown even the slightest interest, and especially to Messrs. @Enzo the Magnificent, @Col. and @Bertie McBoatface for their support. I will no longer be updating the Behemothic Build List, but it's likely that the HMS Salty Sea Dog will be able to chug along to its conclusion at the end of April under its own steam. Again, thank you, and happy modelling. Best wishes, Tony
  3. Like I said, not my scale… but I’m definitely going to end up building one 😁
  4. Probably 99 out of 100 modellers would be happy to live with it, for the sake of something to make the look the model look more interesting? I'm not sure I'd have much joy getting some wash to stick in accurately rendered panel lines at 1/144 scale 😁 Or maybe there's a middle ground to be found.
  5. Possibly from a film originally, just a still I found on t'internet. Not at all. Plenty to think about there. This pic captures a fraction of a fraction of a secod, I imagine!
  6. Not my scale but I'm curious to see what Beacon have done with 1/144, and will follow with interest. I did Revell's ancient 1/144 Spit around Christmas (not quite completed but it will be hanging on the three Christmas '23) and there wasn't a lot in the way of detail to speak of! I wonder if there is a place for Beacon as the "Eduard of 1/144"?
  7. All that would seem to make absolute sense, @Zephyr91.
  8. There are two different shapes of Rotol in the Eduard kit, @Troy Smith has already alluded to a difference that I really can't see, maybe I need to look a bit more closely! I overthink everything - it's in my nature! 😁 Thanks for the further info, thorough as ever. Read it on a thread elsewhere in BM I think. I was on a different computer so don't have it to hand in the memory. As I said I specialise in Spitfires, I just fancied a thread where I'd have all my queries in one place at the end of one browser shortcut. I'm aware of the "all the Spitfire questions" thread, I've asked questions there in the past, but also plenty outside the thread, as have many others. Not sure I see any harm.
  9. That’s the same pic I’ve seen as it happens @wmcgill. Mind if I ask how you know it’s a wooden prop? cheers
  10. Thanks, @Kari Lumppio, @Work In Progress, @spitfire It makes perfect sense that a wooden propeller blade would have a metal sheath to the leading edge. I did some further digging and the metal used for a Rotol blade of that period was most likely brass, I guess at least in part for its malleability in shaping round the edge. However as regards my particular airframes: Rotol* props on Mk IIa Spitfires were initially magnesium alloy-bladed, but apparently they were changed to wooden blades at some point during the production of the marque. IIa’s were built at the Castle Bromwich factory between June 1940 and April 1941. My IIa, P7308, was delivered to 24 Maintenance Unit at the end of July 1940, which makes it a pretty early example. I’m therefore going to go with MA and wear accordingly. I think my Seafire IIc, on the other hand, had a wooden propeller. I seem to remember reading somewhere that trials were carried out with wooden and metal propellers, and given the Seafire’s propensity for nosing forward and “pecking” the carrier deck, wood was considered safer for deck crew from the point of view of blades or fragment of blades flying around the deck. I’m thinking brass for the leading edge sheath. In the one good photo of the prop that I have from the front the blade leading edges, or at least the one nearest the camera, look very worn indeed. I like that effect a lot. Maybe a few more pennies finding their way into the Bezos bank account from my direction. * I just learned that Rotol was founded as a joint venture between engine manufacturers Rolls Royce and Bristol. Every day's a school day!
  11. So I’ve just embarked on a long-term project to build a hangarload of Spitfires and Seafires in 1/48. Inevitably questions will arise that referring to my small reference library (Price, Morgan & Shacklady etc.) and Googling on the interweb won’t be able to answer. I’m aware of the “all the Spitfire questions” thread but so I have everything in one place I’m going to indulge myself with a thread for my occasional questions. First up: two of my current builds had (I believe) wooden propeller blades: a Seafire IIc with a four-blade prop and a Spitfire IIa with a three-blade Rotol. Both airframes were in fairly intensive combat situations so a bit of weathering will be appropriate, but obviously prop leading-edge chipping with a metallic paint won’t. Anyone got any suggestions as to what a battle-hardened wooden prop would have looked like? I have pics of both airframes, the Seafire’s prop appears to have a fair amount of wear on the leading edges of the prop blades, but I don’t suppose it can be metallic; the pic of the Spit IIa shows the prop side-on so it’s less clear, but (possibility of a prop change apart) the aircraft was 16 months old at the time I’m depicting it so some wear and tear was likely. Would there have been visible primer? Bare wood? Any thoughts? Thanks Tony
  12. Oh, it definitely is! 😉 I hope this turns out to be just what the doctor ordered. I too have been having a bit of a reassessment of my modelling commitments, and am scaling things back a bit if not in terms of planned builds, how many I do at a time and against what deadlines. Modelling is supposed to be fun. Oustanding job on the cockpit btw. Will follow this with interest.
  13. Evening all - I've decided to consolidate all my Spitfire/Seafire builds under one ongoing thread, if you're interested in further progress on this one it can be picked up here: Many thanks! Tony
  14. Spent a bit of time messing about with chalks to finish off the weathering on the Zumbach Vb. For a first attempt at meaningful weathering, I think I've got it about right and I'm fairly pleased with it. I've topped it off with a matt finish and removed the canopy masks. I have to work out how to stick the legs back on now.
  15. Well, it's a nice round number alright 😁 Modelling isn't supposed to be stressful in any way, right? I mean, apart from encounters with the carpet monster... Sounds interesting! I'm learning as I go with the Spitfires. I've already built up a small reference library, and there are some knowledgeable folks hereabouts who are happy to share their expertise.
  16. Well, I think it's likely to keep me busy for a few years with my current rate of completion! I will do some different stuff along the way, I have an appointment with a Lanc at some point, and want to have a crack at a couple of 1/35 desert dioramas.
  17. Day 46 roundup! Today it's all about the mighty @stevej60, who not only has added a sleek and beautiful 1/48 Fury to the gallery, but has pitched with in no fewer than three new WIPs. Come on Steve, you're making the rest of us look bad! @PhantomBigStu is also there with a new Corsair. So the maths is fairly straightforward for me today... 191 builds 126 underway 33 finished 1 sunk
  18. Again, got to be honest, I have no idea what any of this means. 😁
  19. As nowadays I pretty much only build the Supermarine Spitfire and its variants in 1/48 scale, to make life a little easier for myself I've decided to throw everything I have on the go into one Spitfire superthread that should see me through to the eventual end of what in my head I call The Project. This will entail building some 50 different Spitfires in 1/48 scale. It won’t be an exhaustive trawl through every marque and operator, just ones that take my fancy. I've realised today that I'm causing myself unnecessary stress by overcommitting to group builds (I'm sure I'm not alone in this); not just that, but I'm forcing myself to do subjects just to fit a theme of a given group build (with Spits there's a lot of flexibility in this regard), when often I'd just like to give myself the freedom of the stash. So, inspired in part by @ModelingEdmontonian's Hawker Hurricanes Around The World project, going forward I'm going to try to have all my Spitfires under one roof, as it were, and dip in and out of GBs as and when I feel like it. The Supermarine Spitfire was my first love when I started modelling, first time round, back around 2009. For a while I built nothing but Spits in 1/72 scale. Then I got into some other stuff, took a decade off, came back to it during the lockdown (like you do), did some other stuff and recently came back to Reg Mitchell's finest, albeit in failing-eyesight-friendly 1/48 scale. I've also been enjoying learning more about the rich history of this most iconic of aircraft. I already have an Eduard Mk Ia in the bag, and at the moment I have the following three builds on the go: Spitfire Mk Vb EN951/RF-D, flown by Squadron Leader Jan Zumbach of 303 (Kościuszko) Squadron during 1941 A very well-known Polish Spit, actually the third Vb flown by Zumbach bearing a variation of his personal “Donald Duck” artwork. This is the new-tool Airfix kit, which is very decent apart from a very poor gluing join for the wheel oleos. I had glued them on and masked them prior to painting only for them to snap off again. I’ll find a way. This build is OOB apart from the decals which are by Techmod. The only change to the plastic has been the deletion of the wing strengthening strakes. I’m nearly there with this one, it’s my first attempt at some meaningful weathering, so far some wing root wear using drybrushed acrylic paint, an enamel wash and a light oil wash. I’m going to have a go at some chalk weathering next before finishing it off. The WIP to date is here. Spitfire Mk IIa P7308/XR-D, flown by American pilot P/O William “Poppy” Dunn of 71 (Eagle) Squadron, summer 1941 At a less advanced stage I have this IIa as flown by American pilot P/O William “Poppy” Dunn of 71 (Eagle) Squadron during the summer of 1941. The kit is Eduard’s Ia Overtrees set with a motorised undercarriage unit swiped from a Tamiya Mk I kit and a Coffman start bulge from an Eduard Mk V kit. I’m using decals from 3D-Kits’ “Rotol Spitfires” sheet; it gives the option of either pre-August 1941 Temperate Land Scheme or post-August 1941 Day Fighter Scheme, proposing that the airframe flew with 71 wearing both colour schemes. For reasons I explored in the WIP I feel this is unlikely, and I’ve decided to go with DFS. It’s a box of bits and pieces at the moment. Seafire Mk IIc MB218/S-A, 809 Naval Air Squadron FAA, HMS Stalker, Operation Avalanche, September 1943 Finally, this is the Seafire Mk IIc that I’m doing for the Salty Sea Dog GB that I’m hosting (I’m going to continue the GB WIP, of course). This is the Special Hobby kit, which I’ve been finding a bit of a bruiser compared to Airfix and Eduard. I’m building it as a striking shark-mouthed, clipped-wing Seafire that flew from HMS Stalker during the allied landings near the Italian port of Salerno in September 1943. Having lost one of the resin cannon from the kit I’m waiting for some brass replacements to arrive from the big H, then I’ll be able to press on. For the same GB I’ve also planned a Seafire Mk 46 and a Spitfire Mk Vc Trop as flown to Malta off USS Wasp via HMS Eagle, which in my heart of hearts I know I’m unlikely to be able to finish by the end of April, so they may well find their way here. So, there we have it. I'm also going to be a little more disciplined by having one build on the go at any time, rather than serial starting and spinning proverbial plates, so my aim is to firstly drag the Zumbach Vb over the line. We'll see how it goes! Thanks for looking in. Tony
  20. I'm getting a wee bit stressed about the load I'm putting on myself with the usual unrealistic forecasts of what I'll be able to build within GB timeframe constraints. I always do this. Apart from two standalone WIPs, I have one in the works for the SSD (and two more planned!), and I told myself I'd do two for the Recce GB, which is almost upon us. All this on top of hosting this GB (which I am enjoying immensely) and the demands of a busy lifestyle with other interests. As I only build Spitfires, with the exception of the Seafire I have on the go for the SSD I'm thinking of amalgamating everything else in one Spitfire factory megathread on the main WIP section, hence allowing myself to the freedom to build what I want when I want, and take part in/cheerlead for the occasional GB if and when I feel like it.
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